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Man Faces Attempted Murder Charge In Ocean City

OCEAN CITY – A Salisbury man was arrested on attempted
murder charges in Ocean City early Monday morning after holding his long-time
girlfriend against her will for hours and strangling her several times to the
point she lost consciousness.

Howard Caltrider, 45, of Salisbury, was arrested on an
attempted second-degree murder charge on Monday after a domestic incident
during which he threatened to kill his girlfriend of 20 years several times and
actually strangled her to the point of unconsciousness during a three-hour
ordeal before she escaped.

Ocean City police officers responded to the fire station
on 15th Street on Monday where they met with an off-duty volunteer
firefighter, who told them he was flagged down by a woman in distress earlier.
The victim told him she had been assaulted and needed medical attention.
According to police reports, the victim told the firefighter she felt she was
going to go unconscious and needed an ambulance immediately. At that point, the
firefighter took the victim to the fire station to receive medical treatment
from paramedics.

The victim, Catherine Capone, later told police Caltrider,
her boyfriend of 20 years, had assaulted her in a house on St. Louis Ave. near
5th Street where she was staying. The victim told police Caltrider
held her against her will for three hours, during which he strangled her three
times so severely it caused her to lose consciousness.

The investigating officers noticed several bruises and
abrasions on the victim’s body. She was then transported to AGH for treatment.
The victim told investigators the house on St. Louis Ave. was supposed to be a
“safe hiding place” for her because she was in fear he was going to kill her.

During an altercation earlier in the day, the victim said
Caltrider told her he was going to “beat her, torture her and then he was going
to kill her,” according to police reports. The victim also told police if she
tried to leave the house, he was going to “gut her” and also told the victim he
was “going to blow her brains out,” according to the report.

The victim told police she was sure she was going to die,
regardless of whether she stayed or got caught trying to escape. Finally, she
was able to escape after three hours when Caltrider became distracted.

Caltrider was arrested a short time later and charged with
attempted second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, reckless
endangerment and malicious destruction of property.